Putting Faces on the Murdered Victims of Aurora, Colorado

As heartbreaking as the mass murder in the Aurora, Colo., theater is by a cold-blooded thug, it gets even more poignant and heart-wrenching when you personalize each individual who were lost and what their lives were like before it came to a senseless and abrupt end.

One of 12 people murdered in the Dark Knight Rises premiere was Jessica Ghawi, a young San Antonio, Texas, woman, who had recently moved to Aurora, Colo., says San Antonio News 5.

Ghawi was slain in the surprise ambush attack by a lone gunman, her brother, Jordan Ghawi, confirmed while on his way to the San Antonio airport to catch a flight to Denver.

Ghawi decided to attend The Dark Knight Rises with longtime friend Brent Lowak, of Bulverde, Colo. Lowak was shot at least once, his father confirmed and is reportedly in surgery. No word yet on his condition.

They were among the 12 people killed while waiting outside a Denver-area movie theater on the opening night of The Dark Knight Rises.

Below are a few more photos of Ghawi that provide a glimpse into her life.

–terry shropshire

UPDATE:

According to ABC News, just six weeks ago, Ghawi, a young sports writer, had just missed getting caught in the Toronto food court shoot-out. And she reflected on how lucky she was and how fragile life is in a blog post about the attack.

“I found out after seeing a map of the scene that minutes later a man was standing in the same spot where I just ate, and opened fire in the food court full of people. … I would’ve been in the same place where one of the victims was found,” Ghawi wrote at the time, the television rep0rted.

Unfortunately, Ghawi was not lucky this time.

After graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Ghawi had been looking for a job in broadcasting. After interning with Mike Taylor, a sportscaster at San Antonio’s Ticket 760, she got a new job in Denver, primarily covering hockey.